Speak
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: ...she couldn't turn to Lance right now. She knew he was unstable, that he needed his cool down time before they could even consider speaking with each other. The only other person who knew about Titan and about what the three could do was Solomon.


A/N: I mean, I was writing practically until the crack of dawn on this one and my other one-shot like this. Turned out much shorter than I thought it did…

Also, I'll just say that I totally saw that ending coming. It was hard not to see it! The way they did the flashbacks and everything were such classic moves! But now, the series will get interesting…

Disclaimer: I do not own Sym-Bionic Titan.

Warning: Contains spoilers for "A Family Crisis".

Ilana knew she couldn't turn to Lance right now. She knew he was unstable, that he needed his cool down time before they could even consider speaking with each other. The only other person who knew about Titan and about what the three could do was Solomon. He at least knew more about the secrets behind the giant robot than most did.

Solomon was sitting on a step in a set of two or three of them that led down to a slightly lower level of the ship. He was going through papers, looking at each before flipping to the next. Every now and then, his gaze would flit up to Lance who was sitting down the long hallway on the slightly lowered level with his arms folded across his chest and his gaze focused on the vast expanse of space that stretched out ahead of the ship.

Since Octus's "death" two days ago, Lance and Ilana still hadn't spoken a word. They didn't know where to go, what to do, how to live without their parental figure. Ilana needed to find solutions, and Lance was no help. He was having a relapse moment and Ilana was beginning to worry that she might lose the body of Titan because she had lost the mind. How could the heart survive on its own?

The girl was one who always had to talk out problems. She couldn't be like her guardian; she was incapable of bottling it all up like Lance could. So she went to the only other person whom she believed could understand: Solomon.

Ilana knew this wasn't a good choice by any means, but she was worried about Lance and she had to tell someone of her fears. Solomon was the only one who had a full understanding of Titan and how much Octus had meant, despite not knowing him. So she quietly sat down beside him on that step and smoothed out her slightly ruffled skirt, eyes fixated on the dark-haired corporal who sat staring into space.

"You're worried about him," noted Solomon, clearly understanding that Ilana was there to talk. His hidden gaze never lifted from the papers in hand. He knew how to discreetly talk about someone who was nearby; he had nearly mastered the art of it.

Ilana bit her lip. It felt wrong to talk about Lance behind his back with someone that she knew she shouldn't trust, but she felt so alone without Octus to confide in. It was lonely knowing that it was only her and Lance now. "Yeah..." she answered, voice scarcely more than a mumble. The princess wanted to talk with him, but she didn't know how.

"This is about your robot." Solomon still didn't shift his glancing gazes anywhere near the blonde teenage girl who sat beside him. He kept watching his papers and Lance. He didn't want the dark boy taking over his ship again.

"More like about Lance," sighed Ilana, resting one elbow on one knee and putting her chin in her hand. "He's not taking things well. He's brooding, but he'll usually at least speak to me." Her voice was clearly distraught at the loss of Octus, but she wasn't going to say how upset she was about it. She didn't want to let her own feelings go out to a stranger. She wanted to talk to Lance first about herself. The main problem was Lance right now and she couldn't talk about him with him so she had to go to the next best thing.

Solomon was trying to keep his tone neutral and monotone. "Why are you worried about him?" He was responding out of politeness more than anything. He couldn't really jump headfirst into the conversation because he was not really engaged in the situation in the first place.

Ilana let her eyes follow every move her guardian made. Every flick of his blackened orbs. Every tense of his perfectly toned muscles. Every minute movement was watched by the princess. "Octus acted like a father to us, literally. He made us watch kid shows and broke up our fights. And Lance lost his father when he was young." The girl watched her guardian close his eyes and grimace as if there were a bad taste in his mouth. "I'm worried that he'll revert back to that same misery."

Solomon remained silent, watching and reading, watching and reading. Yet, he was still vigilant and listening intently to Ilana as she continued to speak softly.

"From what I've heard about him, he's practically my father's ward. I don't know a ton about what happened to his father, but I know that Octus was our parental figure and without him..." Ilana knew she wouldn't get many words back from the G3 leader. So she just focused on her own words and keeping her voice low so that Lance couldn't hear. "I just think that Lance might feel like he's lost his father twice and if he relapses..."

Solomon was listening, still reading, but listening to the girl.

"I just don't want to lose him. Everything that happened after he lost his father turned him into- into this." She wasn't sure what to call his dark demeanor and his bad attitude. She had met him maybe once or twice for brief moments before the funeral where she had seem him for real and he had seemed generally a happy kid. Now he was a dark, vicious, brooding teenager. If losing his father had done that, Ilana was almost scared to see what losing Octus could do to him. "I don't know if he'll be able to cope."

Despite his silence, Solomon offered a few words. "Talk to him. Keeping the distance between you two won't do any good." With his two pence thrown into the pot, he rose from his perch. He cast one last glance at Lance before heading off in he opposite direction, focused on finding a way to get these kids somewhere safe, somewhere they could call home.

Ilana just gave a silent sigh as her glassy stare stayed on her guardian. The princess knew she wanted to talk to him, to make sure that he really was okay. He had blasted the station to bits after what had gone down. She knew he was still in his little recovery period, and Ilana knew better than to try anything with him yet. So she stood as well and disappeared, head hanging, eyes distracted, and heart shattered. Tomorrow, they would speak.

A/N: Maybe a bit OOC for Solomon, but jeez, who else do I really have to pick from on this show? No one else really understood and Solomon was my only choice, really… You can't talk to Lance about Lance; it doesn't work that way. Anyways, review please and thanks!

**~Sky**


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